Despite a potential link between the pathogenetic mechanisms involved in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, there are no currently approved therapies for patients with COPD that have clearly shown an additional beneficial effect in patients with cardiovascular comorbidities. The TOwards a Revolution in COPD Health (TORCH) study assessed the impact of the inhaled corticosteroid (ICS) fluticasone propionate (FP) in combination with the long-acting beta agonist (LABA), salmeterol (SAL), in reducing all-cause mortality. TORCH demonstrated a 17.5% reduction on all-cause mortality with salmeterol-fluticasone propionate combination (SFC) compared with placebo (HR=0.825, 95% CI (0.681, 1.002), p=0.052) in the entire COPD population with disease severity form moderate to very severe. A post hoc analysis of the data restricted to those subjects with an forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1) >=50% predicted with an apparent history of cardiovascular co-morbidities (defined as use at baseline of beta-blockers, angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEI)/angiotensin receptor blockers (ARB), HMG CoA reductase inhibitors (i.e. statins) or a prior MI recorded at baseline) demonstrated a 49% reduction in the risk of dying within 96 weeks for the comparison of SFC with placebo. These post hoc data suggest the possibility of an ICS/LABA combination product to be of substantial benefit in COPD subjects with less severe airflow obstruction yet with increased cardiovascular risk.